Safety circuit-closer.



No. 897,130. r PATENTED 11110. 25, 1908. L. OTTINGER.

l SAFETY CIRCUIT CLOSER. APPLIGMJION'FILED FEB. 11, 1005.

Lean lz'nyer, 3fm/D044 tot I LEON OTTINGER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y;

SAFETY CIRCUIT-CLOSER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 25, 1908.

Application led February 11, 1905. Serial No. 245,213.

To all whomy it may concern.'

Be it known that I, LEoN OTTINGER, a citizen of the 'United States,residing in the borough of Manhattan, city, county, and State of NewYork, and whose post-oiiiee'address is 31 Nassau street, New York, haveinvented a SafetyCircuit-Closer, of which the following is aspecification. v

This invention relates to safety circuit closers and it is primarilyintended for use upon motor vehicles; but it is adapted for use in othersituations where a circuit closer is required that may be positivelylocked in operative or inoperativelposition.

In the great majority of motor vehicles nowin use, it is customary torovide a cutout7 lug, the removal of w ich will interrupt t e batterycircuit and render it impossible to start the vehicle until the plug isrestored to its socket to complete .the battery circuit. These cutoutmplugs vary somewhat in form, but, in general, they are sim ly piecesot iron or brass rod which are slig itly tapered or otherwise modifiedin form at the end which is introduced into the socket. Hence, if theowner of a motor vehicle removes the cut-out plug and leaves the vehicleunwatched, it is not difficult for a passerby to introduce a nail orwire of suitable diameter into the plug socket and so complete thebattery circuit, making it possible to start the vehicle. The ease withwhich the ordinary cut-out plug of a motor vehicle may be replaced bysomething else has given rise to a considerable number of thefts ofvsuch vehicles and has also led to serious accidents through the pranksof mischievous children seeking to start the vehicles.

The object of the present invention is to provide a sim le, compact andthoroughly effective circuit closer which is ada ted` for use in lieu ofthe ordinary cut-out p ug and by means of which tlie'closer may bepositively locked in open position and retained in that position untilthe lock is released by some one having the key to the lock.

The further object of the invention is to provide a circuit closerwhichis ada ted for application to vmotor vehicles alrea'r y provided withcut-out plugs of the ordinary construction.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, I haveillustrated one embodiment of my invention,showing it applied to aswitch of a well known type and taking the place of the ordinary cut-outplug i and socket.

It is to be understood, however, that various modifications in thedetails of construction may be resorted to without departing from thespirit of the invention or exceeding its scope, which is hereinafterdefined in the appended claims.

In the dra ings: Figure l is a view in transverse section through the.circuit closer and theI casing upon which it is mounted. Fig. 2 is asectional view on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1, the parts being shown inelevation. Fig. 3 is a view in elevation taken from the left side ofFig. 1. Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the casing and the structuresmounted thereon. Fig. 5 is a view partly in elevation and partly insection, the sect-ion being upon substantially the line 2 Z of Fig. 1,and the circuit closer being shown in open position. Figs. 6, 7, and 8are detail views of the housing of the lock.

Referring to the drawings, in which like parts are designated by similarcharacters of reference, C designates the casing of vulcanite or otherinsulating material upon the interior of which are mounted two resilientcontact members 1 and '2. rlhese contact members are connected in thebattery circuit and have their ends spaced apart as best shown in Fig.5. The con-tacts land 2 are secured in position by short bolts 3 and 4,having their nuts inclosed within the casing C. Between the two bolts 3and 4 the casing is pierced by an opening through which extends thelower end ofthe housing 5 of the circuit closer. The housing 5 comprisesa horizontally disposed barrel 6 and a vertical tubular extension 7which is externally threaded at its lower end, as shown, and providednear the top with a shoulder 8 which contacts With the outer surface oft-he casing C and leaves above it a portion 9 of thc tubular extensionwhich serves as a vpivot for the swinging switch arm 10, which restsupon a washer 11 that 'also surrounds the upper portion of the tubularextension 7. The housing 5 is secured in the opening provided thereforinthe casing by means of a nut 12 in threaded engagement with the lowerportion of the tubular extension 7.

The barrel 6 .of the housing is slotted along the bottom as shown at 13and is adapted to receive a small lock 14, preferably a pin lock havinga revolublc barrel. The pin casing 15 of the lock enters the slot 13 atthe bottom of the barrel of the housing. Atthe end of the barrel of thelock is secured a plate 16 in which there is preferably formed a spiralcam slot 17, one end of which is near the periphery of the disk and theother end of which terminates near the center of the disk. The tubularextension 7 of the housing for the circuit closer serves as a guide forthe cutout plug 18, the lower end of which is of such shape that it maybe easily pushed between the free ends of the resilient contacts 1 and2. The upper portion of the cut-out plug 18 is cut away on one' side topresent a i'lat surface 19 which lies adjacent to the disk 16 at the endof the lock barrel. This prevents the cut-out plug 18 from turning inits guide way but does not interfere with its sliding movement. Near theupper end of the plug 18 there is provided a stud or pin 20 which engages the cam slot 17 in the disk 16. The construction of the slot 17 issuch that when the slot is in the position shown in Fig. 2, the cut-outplug 18 is held in the lowest position that it can assume, with its freeend projects ing between the two contactsl and 2 and completing thecircuit. But, when the disk 16 is given a half turn by inserting the keyof the lock into the key-hole 21 and turning it through 18() degrees,the stud 2O will be forced to pass to the other end of the slot 17 and,as a result, the cut-out plug will be raised to the position shown inFig. 5, in which the plug is shown as entirely out of contact with thetwo resilient contact pieces 1 and 2. 7Nhen the cut-out plug is in thisposition it is positively held and cannot be displaced by the vibrationof the vehicle upon which the device is mounted. Furthermore, the pin orstud 20 operates as a sto to limit the rotative movement of the lockarrel and so prevents the lock barrel from being turned through an arcof more than 180 degrees. As is ordinarily the case with such locks, thelock 14 is so constructed that the key cannot be withdrawn except whenthe lock is in the position shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, thus preventingthe removall of the key when the circuit is complete and insuring thelocking ot' the cut-out plug in inoperative position whenever the key isremoved from the key-hoie. y

The operation of the device is obvious from the description and thedrawings. ln order toi-,lose the circuit, the key is introduced into theopening 21 and given a half turn to the' left. rl`his will cause thecut-out plug to move from th'e position shown in Fig. 5 into that shownin Figs. 1 and 2, and will bring the lock barrel into the position shownin Fig. 3. ll'hvn it is desired to open the circuit in order to withdrawthe key from the key-hole and leave the vehicle standing, the key isgiven a halll turn to the right and the cut-out plug is raised, to theposition shown in Fig. 5.

As will be noted, the circuit closer is very simple in construction,cornprisin `f only a housing, a cut-out plug slidable within thehousing, and a lock having operative connections with the cut-out plugwhereby the turning of the lock in its housing imparts movement to thecut-out plug, to close or interrupt the circuit, as desired.

As will be seen the lock and sliding contact member are inclos'ed in ahousing which is adapted to any switch of the character shown in whichthe connection between the numbers 1 and 2 is eli'ected by a simpleplug.

W ith slight modiiications in the details ol construction the circuitcloser may be applied to vehicles having different types of batteryswitches and cut-out plugs.

As will be obvious, the closing of the eircuit by means of the circuitcloser above described can be accomplished only by a person having thekey adapted to fit the lock 14, and, hence, the theft ofthe motorvehicle will be absolutely nevented, unless a duplicate key is obtainedby the thief.

As the means by which the housing of the lock and cut-out plug issecured upon the casing is entirely concealed within the casing, theremoval of the circuit closer and the introduction of a piece of ironbetween the contacts 1 and 2 is impossible.

Having thus described my invention, what l claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a safety circuit-closer, the combination with a casing of a fixedcontact piece inclosed within the casing, a lock mounted on the exteriorof the casing and having a housing with a tubular extension into thecasing, a movable contact piece adapted to reciprocate in said tubularextension of the lock housing, and connections between said lock andsaid movable contact piece whereby the reciprocation of said movablecontact piece into and out of contact with the iixed contact piece iseffected by means of said lock.

2. ln a safety circuit closer, the combinationwith a fixed contact, ot asliding contact, said. sliding contact having a stud projectinglaterally therefrom and a lock comprising a revolving member and a diskcarried by the revolving member and having a cam slot therein with whichthe stud of the sliding contact engages.

1n testimony whereof, l have subscribed my name in the presence of twowitnesses..

LEON OT'HNGER. l/Vitnesses:

BAXTER MonroN, il. RICHARD Wonen.

